Jul 5, 2013

Hope you all had a happy July 4th!! With zucchini season in full bloom, I thought I would revive this from the archives - one of my absolute favorites!! Enjoy!!

Summer zucchini hollowed out and stuffed with lean Italian sausage, then topped with marinara and cheese.

OMG! You guys are going to love these!

I've had this concept in my head for a while, but now that zucchini is in full season and my friend gave me some fresh from her garden, I put my idea to the test. The results were simply amazing, thumbs up all around, especially from my picky teen!

One boat fills me up, but you can enjoy two and still be in good shape. I love Polly-O part-skim mozzarella because it melts beautifully as you can see in the photo. I'm pretty picky about my Italian sausage, but I love al fresco's sweet Italian chicken sausage, you forget it's chicken while you eat it and it's 75% less fat that pork sausage, and it's gluten-free. Hope you enjoy.

Preheat oven to 400°. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and using a spoon or melon baller, scoop out flesh, leaving 1/4" thick. Chop the scooped out flesh of the zucchini in small pieces and set aside.

Drop zucchini halves in boiling water and cook 1 minute. Remove from water.

Place 1/4 cup of sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 12" baking dish, and place zucchini halves cut side up.

In a large saute pan, brown sausage, breaking up as it cooks into smaller pieces until browned; set aside. Heat oil and add onion, garlic and bell pepper. Cook on a medium-low heat for about 2-3 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add chopped zucchini, season with salt and pepper and cook about 2-3 minutes. Combine with sausage and cook a few more minutes.

Using a spoon, fill each hollowed zucchini with 1/3 cup cooked sausage, pressing firmly. Top each with 2 tablespoons each of sauce, 1 tablespoon each of shredded mozzarella cheese and 1 teaspoon each of parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes until cheese is melted and zucchini is cooked through.

This looks delicious! I love zucchini, but my husband would prefer the stuffing in a green pepper. Do you think I could bake them together in the same pan at the same cooking time? Thanks for all of your wonderful recipes. I check your site daily!

I would love to make this for my husband (I don't like zucchini).. but it looks like the Al Fresco fresh sausage isn't sold anywhere within a 50 mile radius of where I live in NJ!! :( I've seen the pre-cooked ones, but I thought they were kinda gross.. I really wish I could find the fresh sausage somewhere..

I agree Bonnie....I use the Jennie - O spicy Italian sausage all the time and it's available at my local grocery. Cindy, there aren't any vendors that carry the Al Fresco near me either. Give the Jennie-O a try! Can't wait to use up some of the zucchini from my husband's garden! Thanks again Gina!

I do these with spaghetti squash, but when I was craving that dish last week I couldn't find one at the store... plus I'd rather use SUMMER squash in the summer! I didn't even think to do this, but I love it! Thanks!

Gina you never cease to amaze me! I literally just a few hours ago starting searching for a stuffed zucchini recipe and for the first time saw zucchini boats. I found one I was considering but was a little concerned with fat content. Then I come to your site and BAM!! You have a recipe for zucchini boats!! Yours look so much better than the ones I found on the other site. Will be making for tomorrow's dinner.

These look amazing!!! I love zucchini and especially love low carb recipes as I am looking for tasty healthy recipes to eat while I prepare for my first bodybuilding competition. You always have the best recipes! I can't wait to try this one this week!

Oh yes, I didn't re-invent the wheel, I actually have a much older recipe for stuffed zucchini on this site. This preparation is simply a new idea I had. Figures it's been done before but I'm sure everyone has a different method for how they make it and I bet they aren't skinny.

Thanks for your hard work listing all your recipies and taking pictures so we know what they should look like! Sure, some may have been done already in some form or another (rolls eyes) but its wonderful to have you to make the healthy changes AND test them out for us. Thats priceless! Thank you for all you do!

I don't think Gina is claiming to have invented a recipe. She took a recipe that is usually filled with fat and calories and made it skinny. I am grateful for that and can't wait to make this. It looks delicious!

Made this for dinner and it was absolutely delicious!!! My picky daughter thought it was really good and even my husband who thinks chicken sausage is disgusting, went back for seconds! Thank you for your amazing website. You have definitely helped me become a better cook, thank you!!

Making this for dinner tomorrow night!!! My mother in law just gave me a zuchinni from her garden. It may be too big for this. It is about 2 ft long (no joke). I wonder if I can just hollow out half of it and do one large baked zuchinni and cut that into portions?

Sounds awesome..and am sure this would not be AS good but you could also use ground chicken instead of sausage...just sayin cuz where I live we have no lean sausage...just the really good fatty kind.... lol....

Woo Hoo you have done it again. Thanks Gina, for taking the time and effort into working out these recipes to be healthy and still so yummy. Hubby just picked 7 zucchini from the garden, and I thought what am I going to make. This recipe solved that problem. 2 Thumbs up, make that 4 hubby included his. :)

Gina,Thank you for another delicious recipe. I love the premio chicken sausage and if you live on long island they always have them in King Kullen. I buy them weekly and make your chicken sausage pasta and escarole recipe (my family loves it.Thank you. Annie

As a vegetarian, I think I will try a veggie sausage and see how it works. My question though is would this freeze? I'm trying to come up with some recipes for back to school that I can prepare this summer for the freezer. Thanks in advance!

For a veggie version I use orzo or quinoa and mix a little sauce with the mixture so it isn't too dry. I also just pop the zucchini in the oven for five minutes before stuffing instead of blanching. I never thought to use sausage so thank you Gina for bringing this wonderful idea and recipe to my attention!

Alicia, I think if I were going to freeze it I would freeze just the filling and use fresh zucchini and add the cheese. Last time I made it I didn't have orzo or quinoa do I used couscous and it was good. I added some chopped artichoke hearts and breadcrumbs. I think I said I put the zucchini in the oven for five mins but I mistyped, it's 10 mins

Yum! I can't get the uncooked Al Fresco chicken sausages in my area, but I may be able to find a good turkey sausage to do this with. If not, well, I guess I'll just be buying ground turkey and mixing it with fennel seed, garlic, herbs, and crushed red pepper!

Anyone have thoughts on trying this with Eggplant? I will try the zucchini for sure, but I LOVE eggplant in Italian inspired dishes so my mind goes there right away. Would the prep be the same? Or maybe skipping the blanching step?

Made this last night! It was a definite hit for family dinner night. We used regular zucchini and grey squash; they were both wonderful. Yellow squash might be too flimsy. Thank you for this skinny version!

Thanks for the chicken sausage tips, to you, and a few of your Commenters! I am going to look for Al Fresco or Premio chicken sausage; and another couple of girls said to try Jenny-O Chicken Italian Sausage. I also used your 'pin it' button for this recipe... I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to YOU, Gina. :)http://pinterest.com/gavincent/skinnytaste-gina-s-recipes/Best,Gloria

I live in Oregon and zucchini are very prolific here if it is a good garden year. It seems this year is. I make these or a similar variation often. A quick, low cal, delicious dinner; complete with a green salad and we are happy campers around here.

Words can not describe my love for these. I made them last night and they were SO terrific! They were pretty simple to make, and one os the best foods I have made from Skinnytaste! A must! Thanks so much!

Made these last night with zucchini and bell peppers from our garden! I stuffed both, and they turned out great!! I used a spicy Italian chicken sausage I got from Whole Foods. And I made brushetta for appetizer, also with tomatoes from our garden. SO GOOD!! Thanks for another great recipe.

OMG!! Gina, thank you so much for this website. I literally cook something new and healthy everyday off of your website and you often talk about how your picky teen even likes it, well my fiancé is the same way and he loves your recipes. I just made this dish last night and it was to die for, he was so iffy about it and was sticking his nose up and then he couldn’t get enough lol. It tastes so good even the next day just re-heated in the microwave. I have lost over 70lbs now and honestly your website is truly a life saver. Diet food typically gets so boring and I felt like I was constantly eating salads which don’t get me wrong can be good like your coconut chicken and warm honey vinaigrette salad, but plain salads get so boring. I just really appreciate all of your hard work in putting these wonderful dishes together for all of us; so again thank you so much and keep up the awesome job you do.

OH MY!!!! These were absolutely FANTASTIC!!! We have a garden full of summer squash, and we made these the other night....believe it or not we had left-overs ~~ and I am SOOOOO looking forward to eating those left-overs tonight!!! YUMMMMMMM!!! Thanks for the recipe :)

These tasted great. I had a LOT of water come out of the squash when cooking in the pan and after baking - is that normal? Should I perhaps drain the mixture before stuffing? Not a big deal but it just seemed like a really large amount of water.

I made these tonight and I liked them, but my fiancé who eats EVERYTHING wasn't a huge fan and said the zucchini was way too rubbery! I don't know if the problem was I didn't scoop enough of the flesh out, or they needed more than the 35 minutes. I think I will def give this a try again with the eggplant though! As mentioned in previous posts I used the shady brook farms hot Italian turkey sausage (which really isn't hot!) and the filling was great!

OMG! Made these for dinner with friends!!! They were out of this world delicious! I could not find the chicken sausage so used Jennie-O sweet italian turkey sausage brand. I think if I had made more they would have been eaten by the guys!!! Served with a green salad and homemade bread sticks.

The zucchini were easy to put together and a perfect "boat" for the sausage stuffing!

Made this last night exactly as you suggested and it was DELICIOUS!!!!! Baked it in the grill instead of the oven. The Al Fresco chicken sausage does not crumble up as easily as regular, so next time I'll crumble it up more before cooking the sausage. There will be many more "next times"!

Gina would the points be about the same if I made turkey sausage from scratch the way you have it in a recipe on here (the kale and turkey sausage cannellini soup one)? I LOVE making my own since I can control the fat content and spices. so your recipe is a go-to in our home.

I made these for my teenagers and we all loved it...I used ground turkey instead of the sausage because my daughter does not like sausage and they were great. I "advertised" it to them as a version of stuffed shells with the zucchini in place of the pasta. We loved it. Will definitely be making this again & Again! Thanks

I'm a fairly new reader of your blog but I've already made several of your recipes! All wonderful!

I just made these today - I did everything up to the cheese and then put them in the fridge covered and I'll bake them tonight for dinner. I added a good handful of fresh chopped basil to the filling and oh my, did it taste awesome!! I can't wait to eat the finished product - I'm sure it will knock our socks off ;-)

I made these last night using the little round eight ball zucchini...really cute presentation and so, SO delicious! This is my first time commenting but I have made many of your recipes, MANY times. Thank you Gina!

I made these over the weekend using fresh garlic and zucchini from my garden. I also used turkey sausage. They were AMAZING! I stated a lifestyle change in January and have been using this site for receipes, ideas and tips. I'm down 50 lbs... back to college weight!!!

Made this with eggplant last night b/c the zucchini in our local Whole Foods was so tiny I thought it might be hard to stuff. Anyway, made it exactly as the recipe stated, just with eggplant - only needed to bake 40 min though and it was DELICIOUS. My husband and I devoured it. I doubled the filling since we had a large eggplant and it was perfect. Instead of the chopped tomatoes on top I put a little homemade tomato sauce and sprinkled parm cheese on top. It was out of this world. Still want to try with zucchini when I can find them a little bigger but this was amazing.

Made this over the weekend and it gets 4 thumbs up from my daugher and me. I was even thinking you could use jalapeno sausage and corn and salsa and jack cheese to make it with a Mexican twist but the way Gina has it was perfect too. One note - there was a ton of water in the pan when I removed the foil so next time I will vent the foil just a little bit with a few slits. This one is going on our permanent meal rotation! Can't wait for the leftovers tonight!!!!!

I love your blogs! I have been using your recipes for the past three weeks and i've loved every moment of it. Whenever I cook something new, I post it on Facebook and it drives my friends crazy :-) my husband and our three year old loves all th dishes I have made using your recipes.

I do have to swear by the Jennie O turkey sausage as well - it is absolutely fantastic with this recipe.

Thank you for another great idea of what to do with all the zucchini in my garden! I used Sweet Chicken Italian Sausage from Trader Joe's (for others looking for somewhere to buy) and added fresh basil and red pepper flakes (in with the onion mixture) for a little extra spice.

Made this tonight and it was so good!! I did use ground venison instead of the turkey sausage. We have plenty on hand and it has lower points than most commercial brands of turkey sausage. I am hoping that my son doesn't like it so that my husband and I can have the leftovers later in the week. Oops! Did I say that out loud???? Thanks for a great recipe! Julie in WI

OMG!!! I did love this and so did my whole family. This was one of the best recipes you have done and I have made a ton of yours (love them all) and I cant wait to make this one again. I felt like I was a chef...and just had some amazing speciality dish at my favorite resturant. Great job on this one. Thanks so much.

I made these last night and they were amazing! They were so fililng and delicious I can't believe they were only 4 points. I served them with a side salad with a basic vinaigrette. My enviably skinny and slightly particular husband ate two and a half! Thank you for sharing all your recipes, Gina. I have been using them for a year and we really enjoy them. I feel infintely better about what I am serving my family. And that homemade quick marinara...magical! Also on the menu this week: your Chicken Rollatini, your Arroz Con Pollo and your Chicken Enchiladas. Its a Skinnytaste Week!

This is probably my favorite recipe of yours so far, Gina. I make an effort to try at one to two of your recipes a week, and I've definitely begun an archive of favorites. This one goes to the top. I also have to say, I am a person who hates leftovers, but since I started making your recipes, I find myself savoring leftovers and counting down to lunch the next day! Thanks for an awesome blog, and amazing recipes like these!

I cannot wait to try these! I'm having trouble locating the sausage! Will the package say "lean" or is the sausage lean because it's chicken sausage?Thank you for the time and energy you put into this so we can all benefit!

The sausage I bought (Pederson's) was only a 10oz package, so I thought I'd bulk up the filling and added a cup of cooked brown rice. WHOA! I had enough to stuff the 4 zucchini, 1/2 a red bell pepper, and a portobello! Nice! I also added crushed red pepper to the filling for a some kick. Can't wait to try this with those little Japanese eggplants!

This was a huge hit with the hunky Hubby!! I totally lazied this recipe up. All I did was chop up the Al Fresco sausage stir in a can of contadina fire roasted chooped tomatoes and fill the zucchini with it. Topped it with the mozz and skipped all the other steps...added nothing else and did not blanch the zucchini. It was AMAZING!! So quick, easy and nutricious. Thank you so much, Gina!!! You are an absolute Gem...and gorgeous to boot!!! <3

Just made these last night and they were totally delicious. It was a little more labor intensive than I had imagined but they taste so good that I'd do it again. The hubs said it tasted like zucchini pizza and gobbled up two last night! Brought some leftovers for lunch today - just as good as last night! This is a definitely repeat.

I made these the other night and they were great! I did have to modify the recipe a bit, though! Same ingredients, but my mixture just would NOT fit into the boats. I chopped up the boats, mixed them in with the rest of the sausage mixture, and topped each portion with the cheese and sauce. I had the leftovers the next night, scrambled with an egg - delicious!

I made this tonight and it was delicious! Thank you so much for all the work you do to produce and publish tasty, healthy recipes. Everything I have made from your site has been really, really good. Thanks!

Finally made these last night with lean turkey sausage since it was all I could find. I would probably use my own turkey sausage (the recipe from your site) in the future since picking off the casings was a pain. The recipe itself was very tasty, even though I forgot to boil the zucchini. Boiling it probably would have made it softer which I would have preferred. But overall YUM!

Made these tonight and got a thumb-up from the whole family. Thank you for a new health way to use up zucchinis (rather than baking bread!). I used turkey italian sausage and pizza sauce and it was delicious!

Just wanted to say that I live in a very small to & there was no chicken sausage to be found. I substituted w ground chicken & seasoned it myself w Italian herbs. The whole family loved it. Thanks for this new family fav.

I have a lot of zucchini and would love to make this, but I'm from the Midwest and we (along with most of the states) are in an excessive heat wave! I refuse to turn my oven on and have only used the grill or crockpot lately! Do you have any suggestions of how to cook these on the grill so I could try to keep my house cool?

I have made almost all of your grilling recipes... They are all good! We especially love the buffalo burger and the chicken parmesan burger! Thanks!

These were SO good! I cannot believe that everything I try from your website not only tastes great, but looks exactly like your pictures! This is amazing to me as I usually don't end up with anything that resembles the pics in the cookbooks! Ha! I can't wait for your cook book! I have told all my blogging lap band gals about you!

I made this last night, it was so delicious!! I am also a horrible cook but this recipe was really easy to follow and everything came out great. I don't like bell peppers so I used mushrooms instead and I think it was a great combo. I can't wait to make this again!

This came out sooooo yummy! My husband was hesitant at first but both he and the kids AND a visiting friend tore through them!!! Instead of using sausage, we used ground turkey meat. I seasoned it up and it was good to go! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE...will make again soon. This time I will have to make more so I can have more than one, myself! LOL

Made these tonight, and will definitely be making them again. Perfection! I used hot turkey sausage, and served it with a side of shirataki noodles topped with more homemade marinara sauce.

Next up I'm making your crustless zucchini pie (probably served with BBQ chicken), and then I'll move on to the zucchini tots. If Picasso can have his blue period, then I can be allowed my zucchini mode! We're making the most of the summer's produce, and love having some brand new favorites to add to our menu. Thanks so much!!!

Thank you for great inspiration, as always! I made a version of this using yellow summer squash, pizza sauce and Johnsonville Italian three cheese chicken sausages. Smells like pizza cooking in the over but won't say on my backside like pizza would! THANK YOU!